Ladki Bahin payout on civic poll eve sparks Maharashtra storm

NAGPUR: Maharashtra govt's decision to credit Mukhyamantri-Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana instalments for Dec 2025 and Jan 2026 to beneficiaries' accounts on Jan 14, the eve of municipal polls, has become a flashpoint between BJP-led Mahayuti and opposition Congress. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) moved state election commission (SEC), objecting to govt's decision to credit two months' instalments, totalling Rs 3,000, barely 24 hours before the civic polls. It termed the release plan a "collective govt bribe", accusing it of violating model code of conduct to influence over 1 crore women voters. The party urged the commission to direct govt to release the funds only after polling concludes. Revenue minister and Nagpur district guardian minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday dismissed Congress's objections as political opportunism, asserting that women beneficiaries could not be held hostage to election schedules as the Ladki Bahin scheme predated the announcement of civic polls and had "nothing to do with municipal elections". "This is an ongoing welfare programme of the state govt. For polls in 29 civic bodies, women across the entire state cannot be deprived of their rightful benefits," he told a press conference, adding any attempt to stall payments would amount to discrimination against women. Bawankule accused Congress of hypocrisy and obstructionism. "When this govt launched the scheme, Congress tried everything to stop it. Former MPCC president Nana Patole attempted to derail the scheme by encouraging a petition in the high court," he alleged. "With nearly 2.5 crore beneficiaries, stopping payments because of elections would cause real hardship. Welfare cannot be switched on and off for political convenience," Bawankule said. Nagpur BJP city president Dayashankar Tiwari called it an exposure of Congress's "anti-women mindset".